Minnesota Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio left, of Spain, falls to the floor after a called charge on Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

MINNEAPOLIS - Throughout this underachieving season filled with inconsistency and injuries, one theme remains painfully clear.

The Lakers haven't met an opponent they can beat handily.

It appeared they found the perfect candidate to end their road struggles with the Minnesota Timberwolves losing 19 consecutive times to the Lakers and dropping nine of their last 11 contests prior to Friday's game.

The Lakers' 111-100 victory Friday over Minnesota at Target Center may have satisfied the bottom-line result. L.A. snapped its eight-game road losing streak and, at 21-26, remained three games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

"I'm happy," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We have to get wins and we got one."

It initially appeared the Lakers hardly sweated Dwight Howard's absence. He flew back to Los Angeles earlier Friday to undergo a platelet rich plasma (PRP) procedure on his sore right shoulder.

But for the third consecutive game, the Lakers squandered a double-digit lead against a team remaining low in the Western Conference standings.

They nearly blew an 18-point lead Tuesday against New Orleans, requiring Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash to play extended minutes. They squandered an 18-point cushion against Phoenix, ruining Nash's return there for the first time since switching teams this offseason.

Against Minnesota, the Lakers' 29-point lead nearly evaporated. Timberwolves guard Alexey Shved made a three-pointer that cut the Lakers' lead to 94-90 with 5:54 remaining. The Lakers avoided embarrassment because Minnesota scored only six points in the final 4:15.

"It's better than not getting them," D'Antoni quipped about the blown leads.

Others weren't joking.

"We need to be able to sustain leads. Otherwise, it's going to cost us games," said Pau Gasol, who posted 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 12 rebounds as the team's starting center. "We can't play the score. We just need to play the game."

But the Lakers haven't done so.

Instead, they've given every NBA team both good and bad a chance to beat up on a once-storied franchise.

Minnesota almost became an exception with the Lakers building their 29-point lead in different ways.

The Lakers' 10 first-half field goals from 3-point range nearly matched the franchise record when they made 12 in two games, Dec. 17, 2006 versus the Wizards and March 7, 2008 against the Clippers. Gasol filled in nicely at starting center after playing as a reserve the past six games, scoring 13 of his 22 points in the first half.

Yet, the Lakers entered halftime with a 68-53 cushion after allowing the Timberwolves to go on a 17-3 run featuring too many plays where the Lakers looked overwhelmed.

Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio beat Steve Nash off the dribble and easily glided past Gasol into the lane. On another play, Rubio swiped the ball from Kobe Bryant, led the break and threw a behind-the-back pass to Derrick Williams. Aided in part by Minnesota's 2-3 zone, the Lakers closed out the final five minutes missing 11 of their last 13 shots.

"The resiliency was there, but the execution wasn't," said Bryant who posted a near triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. "The zone bothered us a little bit. It threw us out of whack and out of rhythm.

"We had to regroup."

The Lakers never opened the second half with a run to put this game away. Unlike the Lakers' opponents in their previous eight road losses, Minnesota lacked enough time to extend the losing streak.

"We're the greatest team ever assembled," Lakers forward Metta World Peace said with a hint of sarcasm. "Sometimes people get lucky."